Epergne bowl

The preserved top part of the epergne in the shape of a round plate, fully covered with enamel with en grisaille decoration against a black background. In the middle of the mirror, there is a visible damage at the point of connection with the base. Edges of the dish are very strongly degraded, with crumbled enamel. The decoration of the epergne is the representation of thirsty knights drinking water from the river. In the foreground, we can see the general commander and warriors in armours and helmets kneeling beside him. They lean over the water surface to quench their thirst. On the other bank of the river, there are knights slurping water directly from the river bed and knights taking it in their hands. Behind them, in the distance, tents and trees growing on rocks are visible. On the right, we can see a soldier going out of the water. Underneath, in gold letters: ‘Juges VII’. On the bottom side of the epergne, there are two Renaissance cartouches
and two caryatids connected by arabesque strips.

The representation is the illustration of a fragment of Chapter 7 of the Book of Judges from the Old Testament. From the 5th verse of this chapter, there is a description of the selection of warriors whom Gideon would take on a battle against the Midianites upon the order of God’s voice. The group of attackers would consist only of those who, upon coming to the river, knelt down, took water in their hands and quenched their thirst in this way. The voice ordered that those who had lain on the ground and drunk straight from the river be left in the camp. That was how Gideon selected 300 warriors with whom he attacked the camp of the Midianites. The Lord showed him the way of defeating their enemies, which was illustrated on a fragment of the epergne no. Wil.206.

The bowl was shown to the Warsaw audience during An Exhibition of Antique and Art Objects in the palace of Count August Potocki and his wife at Krakowskie Przedmieście 32 (today the Museum of the University of Warsaw) in 1856. Both are described in the catalogue of this exhibition under item 799, along with the second one (Wil.206) attributed to the same artist.

Joanna Paprocka-Gajek